Yearly Archives: 2017

When you started on your path to entrepreneurship in the green industry, one of the factors that may have called you to go out on your own was the ability to create an atmosphere, a vibe so to speak, that was unique to your company. Of course, you also wanted to create a successful business, one that would grow and expand, providing you and your family with a stable and sustainable income. How can you reconcile that urge to grow with maintaining a small company vibe? Here’s how: Transition from […]

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Spring-Green Lawn Care is proud to announce its newest franchise owner, Keith Ives, of Evergreen Exteriors in Clinton Township, Michigan. Ives started in lawn care in high school, working with a neighbor cutting grass during the summers. After high school, he joined the Marine Corps and when his service was over, went to work for a large company in the area. “I was running all of their operations as the operations manager, and I figured, I’m doing everything already so I might as well go into business for myself,” he […]

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Pricing is a challenge for any business, but new green industry business owners are especially aware of this struggle because of the seasonal nature of the work. On the one hand, you need to set prices that allow you to have an income during the down months, but on the other hand, you don’t want to overcharge and send customers to your competitors. How can you find that sweet spot in terms of what to charge for lawn care services? How to establish prices When it comes to what your […]

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As a green industry business owner, you know the value of having existing customers add-on services. You earn more money from one interaction, while saving the time and expense of marketing to and servicing multiple customers. Sign you up, right? Well the key is making your existing customers want to use more of your services without feeling pressured. No matter what business you are in, here are three tips anyone can try to encourage customers to up-sell without any hardcore sales pressure from you: 1. Link the up-sell to the […]

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As a green industry business owner, your day is probably already quite full with managing customer expectations, coordinating employees and staying on top of all the little issues that crop up day-to-day. While you know you need to think about growing your business at some point, the timing may never seem quite right. How can you know when you and your lawn care business are ready to take things to the next level? Here are the five signs your green industry business is ready to grow. 1. You can’t handle […]

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The company is honored to once again be listed among the world’s very best franchise systems. Spring-Green Lawn Care is proud to announce that for the second year in a row it has been included in Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 listing, the first and most comprehensive franchise ranking. This is the 38th list Entrepreneur has compiled of the top franchise opportunities. “It is an honor for Spring-Green to be listed yet again in the Franchise 500,” said James Young, president, Spring-Green Lawn Care. “We are aware that a great deal […]

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Hiring mistakes happen, and those errors can be costly. As a green business owner, your focus is on maximizing your profitability to create a strong and sustainable business with real financial stability. A key component of your efforts is finding (and keeping!) qualified employees. You can improve your chances by avoiding these following five common hiring mistakes. 1. Rushing the hiring process. When your needs ramp up, particularly during the busy spring season, it is easy to rush into a hiring decision. However, doing so is often where issues arise. […]

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One of the keys to a profitable 2017 for green business owners is engagement with your current customers, while you continue to court new customers, particularly millennials. Recognizing changing consumer demands, particularly when it comes to regulations, will have a big impact in the year ahead. Millennials have different values and see the world as a much more precarious of a place that needs protecting. As a result, green industry business owners need to be more sustainable in your program offerings and in the products you use. Role of regulations […]

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Spring-Green Lawn Care is proud to announce that 2017 marks the company’s 40th year in business. Tom Hofer, chairman, shared his thoughts on this significant milestone, “As one of the first Spring-Green franchise owners, I’m proud to see what we all have accomplished in our first 40 years.” Another milestone for Spring-Green is that it has exceeded $50 million in annual franchise system revenue this year. CEO Ted Hofer said, “It is nice to achieve this milestone, but we have a long way to go to reach our goals. Our […]

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Confidence in the lawn care industry was riding high in 2016, according to the latest Lawn & Landscape State of the Industry report. More than 8,600 people answered the survey, which indicated how the mood of the industry has shifted, dramatically, since 2011. Just five years ago, 20 percent of the respondents said they were not confident the industry would experience any growth the next year. Only 2 percent of those surveyed in 2016 had the same negative outlook for 2017. What else does the study have to share about […]

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